Spare Parts
by wolfsrainrules
Summary: I love this series SO MUCH and have many many plot bunnies for it. So here they are- my collection of 'spare parts'. Now: Molly had hidden herself for years. She was different from everyone else, would be considered a threat. So she had made sure no one realized exactly how different she was. And then Mission City happened.
1. Chapter 1

**Transformers is awesome. I don't own it. I am** _messing with the time measurements_ **to make them easier to handle (for me). I KNOW that's not the 'right' time measurement for the Fandom but shhhhh we're gonna roll with it.**

 **This is my little bucket of 'spare parts' for the transformers universe-AKA little peeks into the plotbunny farm that is my brain- and they're ALL up for adoption provided you message me your interest so I can read them. Major AUs within.**

 **Also visit The Transformers Indexis: Transformers Curses, Insults, and Swears (google Transformers insults) to view where I pulled them from. (It's beautiful)**

 **TIME MEASUREMENTS:**

 **Astrosecond:** .5 seconds

 **Nano-klik:** 1 second

 **Klik** : 1 minute

 **Breem:** 8 minutes

 **Cycle:** 1 hour 15minutes

 **Deca-cycle:** 4 weeks (one month)

 **Mega-cycle:** 96 hours (four days)

 _ **Meta**_ **-cycle:** 12 months (one year)

 **Stellar Cycle:** 6 months

 **Vorn:** 83 years

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

She crooned softly to the little ones in her servos.

This changed _everything_.

She hadn't thought _this_ would happen. She was meant to get behind enemy lines, gather information and get back to her commanding officer. She had done so for hundreds of thousands of vorns and done it well. She hadn't expected to find the Allspark while doing this job. She hadn't even _dreamed_ she would come into contact with it in the event she found it.

And if she hadn't thought it was possible to _find it_ she certainly had not thought the few nano-kliks it took her to have the thought while she was in contact with it before running with it would be enough to do _this_.

She had sparklings.

She had known that the Allspark was the artifact used to create new life, she knew that cybertronians would 'ask' to be blessed with a sparkling. Most often, if the Allspark agreed to bless the partners, it would pull on the two 'parent' sparks to create a child. If it was a lone cybertronian asking for a child- as she had been- the Allspark would pull on the lone cybertronian's spark and provide the energy that usually came from the other partner's spark itself to create the sparkling.

She _had_ been thinking she wanted sparklings when she was in contact with the Allspark. She just…hadn't meant _right then_ , while a war was going on around her, while she was _behind enemy lines_. She'd meant after the war.

The Allspark…hadn't got the message. It had picked up on her desire to have sparklings and acted on it.

And so she now had a set of twin femmes.

She sort of wanted to panic even though she was utterly enthralled with the little ones.

 _Her_ little ones.

She crooned at the little ones again, her blue optics warm and awed.

Split-spark twins. Like Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. One spark in two bodies. They were _rare_. Her eyes snapped up to scan the surroundings. She couldn't stay here with them. Or the Allspark.

She quickly placed the little ones in her sparkling-hold. The two femmes curled together as her armor snapped back into place, closing over the little ones and freeing her hands. She reached out for the Allspark and _ran_.

Unfortunately she couldn't subspace it since it would cause fatal damage to her internally. She'd have to walk out with it. Or rather, sneak.

O~O~O~

It takes her a cycle to get out of the base she had found the Allspark in without getting spotted, however, as soon as she gets out of the base alarms go off and she has to run. She can feel the sparklings in her hold moving around unhappily and she curses under her breath.

" _The walls must have been acting as a suppressant against its signal."_ Her eyes flash around her as she has the thought. She knows she needs to destroy the base behind her. She wasn't sure how they had managed to create a compound that would hide the Allspark, but she can't let it survive to hide the Allspark again should she lose it (which is a possibility considering where she is and she's not sure how close any of her allies would be to her). Unfortunately she doesn't have the time to grab a large enough sample for the Autobots to recreate it either.

She reaches into her subspace for the strongest explosives she has, sets the timers and chucks them before she transforms quickly, the sparklings safely moved to the cab of her alt form alongside the Allspark, and guns it away.

She knows she's working on a countdown now. They know she has the Allspark, and while she may have time to get away thanks to the imminent explosions taking out anyone that would chase her, she knows that it's almost a certainty that this base had already reported the Allspark being taken as soon as the alarms sounded.

She has kliks to get the distance she needs from the blast.

O~O~O~

Half a deca-cycle later and she was feeling it.

She had never been so glad for her extra fuel tanks. They were the only reason she and the sparklings had survived so long without stopping. What had originally helped her with her job on long undercover sabotage was now what was helping her keep herself and her twins alive (And she couldn't stop. The explosion had bought her time, but she _needed_ to get to Jazz or Prowl as soon as possible. Both to hand over the Allspark and get herself and her little ones to Ratchet.)

She reached out on the Autobot communications channel constantly in a vain search for her allies. _::This is Requiem requesting aid! Can anyone hear me? Requiem to the Autobots requesting aid!::_

No one answered her calls. She prayed it wasn't because of Soundwave. Or that Blaster- their communication specialist- would be able to find her anyway if it was Soundwave.

She was getting desperate. Her Energon levels were getting low with three sparks to support on top of the fact she hadn't refueled before getting out of the Decepticon Base, and she had had to fight twice already and had gotten some superficial damage that wouldn't usually be a problem but was quickly becoming one left untreated.

She cursed as she continued to run, every few kliks she would reach out on the communications channel for anyone of her faction.

Time passed.

Requiem soldiered on.

O~O~O~

Warnings flashed on her HUD, telling her she needed to refuel immediately. Requiem knew she needed Energon. She'd taken to giving what she had to the sparklings rather than using it for herself. (The sparkling hold had certain lines that lead to her tanks and when the sparklings sucked on them, they would be fed.) Requiem could feel the little femmes in her mind and spark as the Carrier-Sparkling bond solidified and opened the life-long connection they would share with her in their sparks.

Her little Eclipse and Stardust.

She crooned to them even as she staggered on.

 _::Please…:_ she sent the com out again, wavering lightly on her pedes _:Please…someone respond::_ If she didn't get aid soon…she would run out of Energon and while she would simply drop into stasis-lock if that happened (for a time) the sparklings would _die_ and Requiem could not allow that to happen.

 _::-sponse? Can you— I need you—c—n you h—r me? Auto—::_

Requiem nearly collapsed in relief as she picked up the choppy static laced response. _::Yes! I can hear you. Who is receiving me?::_

As she responded and focused her coms in the direction of whoever had responded to her their response came through much clearer. _::My designation is Blaster.::_ Requiem recognized the designation and voice of the Autobot Communication Specialist as he continued to com her and the static cleared up _::Reading interference with your communications. Status?::_

Requiem didn't allow herself to still as she scanned her surroundings. A low keen of relief escaped her vocalizer as she answered swiftly _::My designation is Requiem of Autobot Special Ops and I need immediate assistance. Find Commander Jazz and tell him R-E-C-2-0-2-F-R-E-E-4-0-7-J-A-S-S. Please. And bring Ratchet and the Big Guy.::_ The code was one Jazz had given her before she had even left on her information gathering/spy mission. The numbers themselves would also tell him certain facts about her status without her needing to say anything over the com.

A few kliks later and she sagged in place as the worried tones of her commanding officer and the brother of her spark reached her _::Wha't're you doin' Requiem?::_ she could _feel_ his worry and anger over the coms and grinned to herself.

 _::Jazz::_ she greeted him with relief _::You have my position?::_

 _::We do::_

 _::Good, Hurry Jazz. I'm…::_ she paused tying to think of an adequate comparison her processor flashing with ideas before she settled on one that would tell him it was bad _::Do you remember::_ she started not wanting to outright say what she had just in case it wasn't a secure line, but wanting to convey exactly how bad her situation was and how important what she was carrying was _::when we were younglings and I had get out of the Pits after I won us those spare parts you needed to fix that leak?::_

The line was silent.

She didn't blame Jazz. That had been a hard time for the both of them. They had been so young, and desperate. Jazz had gotten hurt and something had kept _leaking_ all his Energon all over the place. He had been really close to going permanently offline. They had been getting close to no Energon as street-rats as it was-Jazz leaking what he _did_ get was disastrous for him. Once they had figured out there was no fixing the problem without replacing the entire part (which they didn't have the credits to buy as homeless little street-brats that only had each other and nothing else) Requiem had gone looking for another way to manage it. There was no way in the Pit she was going to let her brother die without trying everything and anything she could. Which was why in the end when she found out the black-market fighting rings had what she needed to save him she had entered herself into them.

It had been a mess from the start, but Requiem had been desperate and willing to fight dirty to win. She'd managed it, and gotten the parts she (Jazz) had needed.

Only the other mechs had taken offense to a 'glitch-mouse of a street-femme' winning against them and had tried to corner her. She'd run, tricking the mechs into rushing headlong into the Enforcers and allowing her to escape. (Prowl had ironically been the Enforcer to tackle the mechs chasing her and take them in. He'd also hunted herself and Jazz down and checked on them later that day. He'd bought them Energon. Had kept doing it whenever he could 'find' them (really it had just been one of them going to the mech when times were especially difficult and they couldn't get what they needed alone.) It had been a hard job, but eventually Prowl had earned their trust.) She'd gotten back to Jazz, helped to repair him and then collapsed. He'd had to use the extra spare parts she had won to save her afterwards- repairing her as she had for him.

 _::…_ _ **Frag**_ _::_ Jazz cursed over the com alongside a wave a worry transmitting over the line.

 _::Hurry::_ she reiterated.

 _::On my way. Be careful Requiem. Jazz out..::_

O~O~O~

Jazz had been relaxing beside Prowl, his pedes kicked up on the tactician's desk when Blaster called him over the com. He could feel the communications officer was slightly confused and a bit worried as he spoke to him _::Jazz::_

 _::Wha'cha need Blaster?::_

When Blaster answered, Jazz's processor screeched to a halt and he jerked to his pedes flinging himself towards the communications room at full speed, using every tick he had learned as a street-rat running from the Enforcers through crowds to get there faster. He could hear Prowl running after him (and the only reason the mech could keep up was because he had been the only Enforcer Jazz and Requiem had allowed close enough to learn the tricks they used for himself) but ignored that as the code he had been given repeated itself in his processor.

The code he had had given was one he gave to Requiem before she went on her undercover mission so he would know it was her. Each set of numbers given between the letters told him different things about her status. The 2-0-2 was a sign she was in distress (adding in her request for Ratchet told him it was physical distress since she needed a medic) while the 4-0-7 told him she was being chased and coming in hot. (Her request for the Big Guy- Optimus (and Jazz was proud his nickname for Optimus had rubbed off on her)-told him that was probably the reason she was coming in hot. She had information the Big Guy would want immediately). He needed to get to her now. See what had happened to the sister of his spark. So he was running. (And slag whoever was in his way)

She'd been with him since he was a youngling just out of sparkling-hood. She'd lived with him on the streets, fought beside him, followed him as he checked out the leading mechs on either side of the war, had worked her way up to his second in command as he had earned his place as Commander of the Special Ops. He couldn't imagine a life without her.

As he rushed for the communications room he prayed to Primus he wouldn't have to.

He shoved Blaster aside as he read the information on the screens and used Blaster's equipment to send out an angry and worried com _::Wha't're you doin' Requiem?::_

 _::Jazz::_ she greeted him with relief and he could sense how tired she was over the link _::You have my position?::_

 _::We do::_ he agreed after a quick glance to Blaster to confirm the answer.

 _::Good, Hurry Jazz. I'm…::_ she paused and Jazz felt his spark squeeze with worry. Coms were two way communications and while the others in the room could hear her thanks to the equipment he was using to boost both his and her signal broadcasting their conversations aloud, as the mech on the other end receiving the coms he could feel the strong emotions she broadcasted alongside the words much as she could feel his own.

He could feel how pained and tired she was. And with how long he had known the femme he could hear the hidden tones of panic held back with pure stubborn will and experience. _::Do you remember::_ she started and Jazz's attention snapped back to the femme. _::when we were younglings and I had get out of the Pits after I won us those spare parts you needed to fix that leak?::_

Jazz stilled as the appropriate memory file jumped to the front of his processor. He had been angry he had been hurt enough to make Requiem go out on her own to figure out how to fix it. He'd been even angrier when she had gone to the Pits. The black-market fighting rings.

The prizes could be anything from credits to spare parts to Energon.

Requiem had gone after the ones with the spare parts and ended up hurt and running with his life-saving parts in her subspace. (The two of them had gotten much better as during the more desperate times on the streets when they couldn't get to Prowl- or were too stubborn to ask for help more than once- they had had to go back to the Pit to survive. It was why they were so good at down and dirty fighting.) He could still remember the horrified panic when she had managed to get back to him and repair him only to collapse afterwards. He could remember how his servos had shook as he repaired her as she had done for him with the spare parts she had won.

He was silent for a klik or two before he cursed his worry and concern spiking. _::…_ _ **Frag**_ _::_ whatever she had was important. Very important. And she was hurt- on the verge of collapse running their way.

 _::Hurry::_ she reiterated.

 _::On my way. Be careful Requiem. Jazz out..::_ He cut the communications glancing back at the coordinates Blaster had tracked her to, and darted out of the room. He had two mechs to pick up and then he was hauling aft to her location with or without them.

O~O~O~

Requiem's wheels screeched as she swerved to avoid a plasma blast from behind. She could feel her sparklings' terror as she cursed internally, enraged anyone had dared to fire at her while her sparklings were within her. (Even if they weren't aware of that fact.)

She was so _close_. Jazz was on his way with Optimus and Ratchet. She had the Allspark and all she had to do was last long enough for the bots headed her way to get there. It was difficult with her injuries and her body screaming at her, but she ignored all the warnings on her HUD to keep herself a step ahead of her pursuers.

Decepticons had the worst fragging timing.

She snarled as a plasma blast skimmed past her side singeing her armor and sending her processor humming with pain. The sparklings keened with fear and upset, snuggling as close to one another in the seat of her alt form as they could get and it only made Requiem angrier. Especially since she couldn't chance slowing down enough to _do_ anything to her pursuers or she risked the sparklings, herself and the Allspark all at once. ( _ **Unacceptable.**_ )

It had been two breems since she had gotten ahold of Jazz and Requiem wasn't sure how much longer she could outrun the three mechs behind her. They had caught up to her half a breem after she had ended the com to Jazz and Requiem was _tired_.

"You burnout miss-clocked piles of slag!" she snarled the insults as she screeched around another plasma blast.

Three kliks later, Requiem hit the brakes in a near miss, her wheels spinning as Ratchet screeched around a corner. She had barely missed the medic, the nose of her alt form brushing the nose of his as she drifted around him until she came to rest directly beside him. Jazz had leapt from his place behind the medic as Ratchet slammed to a stop, transforming midair into his bipedal form only to land in front of them both facing the Decepticons who were still headed their way. He lunged to meet them and Optimus was right behind him, quick to join him in bipedal form to lunge after her pursuers. It took them less than half a klik to deal with the 'Cons before coming back to her.

Requiem sagged on her wheels before she slowly transformed into her own bipedal mode, standing eye to eye with Jazz (their lack of care on the streets as younglings had ensured they would always have short frames compared to others). She wavered on her pedes but didn't release her hold on the prize she had escaped with. She staggered forward to Optimus lifting her optics to meet his own "Prime." She greeted him seriously as her Commander with his title rather than his name or a nickname as she normally would "I found the Allspark." She lifted her hands and revealed what she had cradled.

She saw all their optics widen and heard the rattling of armor that signified Cybertronian shock from all the mechs around her and grinned tiredly. It was a sign of _just_ how shocked these mechs were that they could not conceal the reaction as they normally would. "They weren't happy I ran with it." She passed the Cube to her Prime before she turned to face Ratchet who was already scanning her.

From his slowly widening optics she knew he had picked up on what _else_ she was carrying. "Ratchet." She swayed on her pedes. "Tell me you have Energon with you."

He scrambled to get it from his subspace and hand it over after an astrosecond or two of staring at her.

Requiem was glad to break the seal on the cube and down the whole thing in a few nano-kliks. She shuddered as some of the flashing warnings on her HUD finally stopped, leaving the 'tanks low- refuel needed' one rather than the multiple countdown warnings of imminent stasis-lock. She shuddered shaking her helm before speaking "We need to go. They're still on my trail. They'll sense the Allspark if nothing else. They had a compound that hid its signature from us- it was a blessing of Primus I even found it to begin with, but they knew the moment I left with the Allspark I had taken it. I have no doubt they are coming after me- after the Allspark- in force."

She turned her optics to Ratchet "I will submit to your tender mercies on the Ark Ratchet. For now we _must_ put distance between us and them no matter my injuries." Her optics flashed with silent warning. She would not take the sparklings he had seen in his scan out of her hold while out in the open. Her very programing would not allow it. Not in such dangerous times when she knew for a fact enemies could show up at any time. She saw his optics narrow, but he growled and took another two Energon cubes out of his subspace.

"Take these then. My scans show you're near stasis-lock as it is. Had we been even half a breem later…"

Requiem nodded as she took the offered fuel thankfully. She started walking as she drank, not wanting to spill the precious fuel but also wanting to move. She wavered on her pedes as she went and felt rather then saw Jazz come to her side, his optics pinned on her helm.

She grinned into the cube of Energon. He'd always known her best. He _would_ notice she was hiding something else. _::I'll tell you at the Ark::_ she promised him over a private com and saw him relax and turn his eyes to the front. She grinned. He was such a worrier. She was close to collapsing down into recharge- already she had used the override codes to stop herself from dropping into recharge twice in her mad dash from the Decepticon base- and the only thing keeping her moving was the energy she got from the Energon and the knowledge she needed to keep going only for a little while longer.

She was almost _home_.

She hadn't been home in _vorns_. She was always jumping from job to job and meeting point to meeting point. She couldn't wait to see the walls of the Ark again. (Even if her first glimpse of it in any sort of depth would start at the med bay.)

O~O~O~

Requiem didn't even have a chance to report in depth to anyone. Ratchet was in fine form already- angry with what he had already scanned on her status and his inability to fix it immediately.

(Ratchet had absolutely earned his nickname 'Hatchet')

So the moment she stepped a pede onto the Ark she was hustled into the med bay with Jazz on her heels. "Sit down" Ratchet growled "before you fall down."

She grinned to herself even as she obeyed. He wasn't wrong. She was very close to falling over. She wouldn't last much longer on her pedes. Jazz perched beside her an unmoving presence. Ratchet knew better then to attempt to move him. He was the only bot that truly understood their bond to each other and the reactions they would have. They'd spent too long on the streets being the only thing between dangers and the other while one of them was sick or injured to leave each other in the med bay alone. She was hurt- close to forced recharge- and Jazz would not- could not- leave her vulnerable. He trusted the bots he was with, but it was a habit from the streets of Cybertron that had saved both their lives more then they liked to count. He wouldn't leave her alone and Ratchet knew better than to try and make him. (He'd only made the mistake once.)

"Let me see."

Requiem blinked her optics narrowing. She knew what he wanted. Her servos twitched.

"Please" Ratchet added after a moment, his optics soft.

Requiem relaxed a little, her armor settling from where it had bristled slightly in a cybertronian warning. She lifted her servos to her chest-plate stilling another moment before she willed them to open.

She reached into her sparkling-hold and cupped her servos around her femmes. She stilled again, her programs _**very**_ against pulling such young sparklings from the safety of her hold. Especially while she was so tired. Ratchet was very still, knowing better then to rush a new Carrier as they adjusted to programming that would activate with the presence of their sparklings. It wouldn't matter that Ratchet was her trusted friend and her medic- if he tried to forcibly _take_ her sparklings from her, Requiem would attack him with the intent to offline him.

Requiem took a deep breath and reached out to Ratchet after wrestling with her programs. She _knew_ Ratchet wouldn't hurt her little ones, she trusted the medic with her life. With Jazz's life. But her programs screeched that she keep her sparklings close and shielded and _safe_. She opened her servos.

"Cybertron below me…" The synchronized breathless whisper of the two mechs made Requiem grin even as she spoke.

"This one is Eclipse." She lifted a finger to indicate the little femme on the left with the golden streaks on her black frame "The other" she indicated the one on the right who was a darker shade of navy with speckles of white "is Stardust. They are twins."

Ratchet reached forward, slow and steady giving her every opportunity to stop him- which she appreciated as she adjusted to the new programing and the urge to shield her femmes- and carefully trailed a finger over the little ones. They opened their optics and burbled. She heard Ratchet's intakes catch, his armor rattling and clanking lightly with his emotions. She wavered in place for a moment, her servos remaining completely steady despite that, and Ratchet instantly snapped back into 'Ratchet the Hatchet' Chief Medical Officer mode rather than amazed mech. Jazz and Ratchet both moved to help her lean back on the berth and Requiem was happy to obey. "Scan the sparklings Ratchet." She commanded as she leaned back.

Ratchet obeyed easily checking them over and declaring them 'tired but healthy.' She grinned at the news, placing them back into her sparkling-hold and reaching for Jazz. She squeezed his servo the moment he handed it to her opening a private com even as Ratchet moved around her in the quick controlled way the medic had. _::Jazz?::_

 _::…Spaklin's Requiem. I hav'n't seen them in…_ _ **vorns**_ _.::_

She could feel his awe and the instant protectiveness over the com. She grinned at him _::Yeah. I didn't plan on it…but…I wouldn't trade them for all of Cybertron.::_

Jazz could feel the adoration and protective feelings in her spark and smirked _::Ah told ya you'd make a good Carrier::_

Requiem laughed _::You did.::_ she agreed _::This wasn't how I imagined it happening though. You…::_ she paused her optics meeting Jazz's and he tilted his head even as he sent a questioning feeling her way through the com _::You will help me with them?::_

Jazz stilled, his armor clanking with surprise _::Ya don' have ta ask meh ta do tha'::_

Requiem smiled at him _::You are my brother Jazz not their Creator. Of course I will ask. Watch over them for me?::_

She could feel his love and loyalty as well as how honored he was to be asked _::Ah will.::_ he swore and Requiem smiled at him, feeling how serious he was before she allowed the looming recharge to take her now that she and her sparklings were safe.

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

 **This one will be called** _ **Sparkling**_ **.**

 **Is majorly AU (in case you missed it) and I just wanted to see the Autobots reacting and living with actual sparklings during the messes they find themselves in. Eventually Requiem will be in a position that makes her follow after Megatron and the Allspark with the others on her heels. A wormhole makes Megatron arrive before she does, and she lands on Earth a bit before Optimus and the others but after Bumblebee. She spends a while running around by herself but eventually finds Bee.**

 **Most likely I will expand on this somewhere in the mess of 'spare parts' but if anyone wants to adopt this PM me. Ask your questions if you want it expanded on in the PM and I will be happy to answer what I can.**

 **Height wise**

 **Jazz and Requiem:** 15ft **(because I want their street-life to reflect on the height)**

 **Bumblebee:** 17ft

 **Ratchet:** 24ft

 **Ironhide:** 26ft

 **Optimus:** 30ft

 **Megatron:** 34ft


	2. Chapter 2

**Titled this one** _Predacon._

 **I am messing with so much stuff right now. SO AU. (I just really liked the image of the Autobots with a Predacon ally okay. There's this image I have of a huge ass dragon(ess) standing in front of injured Autobots, wings spread wide, a snarl on her face, and** _ **daring**_ **anyone to come close to her Clan while it is vulnerable.) So I KNOW Predacons come in later after Shockwave plays Mad Scientist but SHHHHHH We're rolling with my AU curve balls okay.**

 **TIME MEASUREMENTS:**

 **Astrosecond:** .5 seconds

 **Nano-klik:** 1 second

 **Klik** : 1 minute

 **Breem:** 8 minutes

 **Cycle:** 1 hour 15minutes

 **Deca-cycle:** 4 weeks (one month)

 **Mega-cycle:** 96 hours (four days)

 _ **Meta**_ **-cycle:** 12 months (one year)

 **Stellar Cycle:** 6 months

 **Vorn:** 83 years

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

She had been wild for vorns.

She had no one. No Clan, no Elders, no Alpha, no Healers…she had been alone. Her Clan was _gone_.

For all that her kind were the best of hunters, the best predators they were not meant to be alone. They were meant to thrive with a Clan.

Most never learned of this nature in a Predacon.

They were terrified of them, aimed to kill them or use them before they allowed a Predacon close.

Eclipse hated being alone. Her Clan was gone- wiped out when they refused to bend and follow Megatron. Her Clan had been proud and strong. They had been loyal. They had an Alpha and would not follow _any_ other while he lived especially someone like Megatron who was a _False Alpha_.

It disgusted Eclipse as it had disgusted her Clan. Alphas were meant to be the protectors of their Clan, were meant to lead their Clan with the best of intentions for them. Meant to keep their Clan thriving and healthy. They were _**not**_ meant to lead their Clan into wars and battles, or to hurt their Clan for the slightest of slights. They were not meant to be a bot that would claim to want the best for his people, only to lead with fear and brute force as Megatron did. It was these actions that earned Megatron the title of False Alpha. He had not _earned_ his place he had _forced_ it.

And so her Clan had refused him. Only to be killed. She had escaped only thanks to her Creator and Carrier choosing to sacrifice themselves for her. She had sworn on her fallen Clan she would see the mech known as Megatron _**offline**_ for what he had done to them.

That had been a meta-cycle ago. She had taken to attacking Megatron and his forces whenever she could in that time. Over the course of it she'd saved the lives of a few Autobots including their leader Optimus Prime, their Weapons Specialist Ironhide, and the Medic Ratchet (alongside his patients- that had been a crazy battle, she'd actually had to land on the ground for it. She'd stood between the Decepticons and the Autobots Healer, her wings spread out in warning and protection.).

Optimus was a mech who had _earned_ his place for all the weight his title of Prime carried. _He_ was an Alpha who had earned his place at the top of his Clan as leader-protector-shield-sword. She would not allow the Clan of Autobot to suffer the loss of their Alpha as she had.

She would not realize what her actions had done in saving so many of the Autobot Clan until a later battle.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Autobots and Decepticons had been clashing below her, while she flew above them keeping the Seekers from interfering with the Autobots. The Seekers had long since learned to be wary of her and her flames, teeth and claws.

She was not merciful with them and they had the welding scars to prove it. Unfortunately there seemed to be three sets of three- three Trines- flying around her this time. They seemed to be working together in an attempt to ground her.

Eclipse snarled a warning her flames licking through the air in an attempt to get space. She was being overwhelmed. It wouldn't usually happen, except Eclipse had been fighting for many deca-cycles now with no Healer. She was hurt and kept getting hurt each time she came out onto the battlefield with only her self-repair systems to heal any wounds she had gotten…and while Predacons healed quicker than most others the damage Eclipse kept taking wasn't allowing her the time to heal properly. (Her Healer- Shadowstrike- would have had her wings for going out as injured as she was)

It was showing now.

Her screech echoed over the battlefield as a three-way strike of Decepticon claws at her wings landed and she began to drop from the air drawling all optics to the sky for a moment as she plummeted.

She could hear the Seekers victory cries, but she was falling her long serpentine neck twisting to look at the ground instinctively. The mechs and femmes on the ground were scattering to avoid her as she plummeted towards them.

She twisted her body instinctively the moment she realized she could not slow herself down or glide with her torn wings. Her wings snapped down close to her body her neck and head jerking back in a curving 'S' over her back while her legs tensed and braced for the fall she was about to take, her long scythe tipped tail lashing instinctively.

When she hit the ground she snarled. She had managed to land on her pedes for a moment before the momentum sent her tumbling and rolling across the ground. When she finally stilled her frame _throbbed_. She couldn't move for a moment as her systems tried to deal with the crash she had taken despite knowing she had landed on a battlefield. She could hear running pedes and her processor screamed that she needed to get up and defend herself but she couldn't quite manage it. She twisted her neck lifting her head and snarling a warning that cut off when she recognized the Autobot Healer and Weapons Specialist.

They had slowed at the sound of her snarl but quickened their pace as she cut herself off. "Hurry Ratchet" the black colored mech spoke to the Healer as he turned to the battle field "I will cover you while you work."

The Healer- Ratchet- had nodded sharply as he approached her, hissing his displeasure when he noticed all the self-healing injuries on top of the ones she had just taken to her wings. "What did you _do_ to yourself?" he growled as his servos began to fly over her frame. Eclipse snorted softly as she lowered her head to the ground curling her neck slightly around the medic as he worked.

"I fought" she answered him softly causing both mechs to jerk with surprise "without a Healer. There was no one to help me but that did not mean the battles stopped nor did it mean I didn't need to be there on the field."

She closed her golden optics for a moment before she opened them again, scanning the surroundings for threats from her shielding place of the Healer. She knew the weapons specialist realized what she had done by curling her neck and head around the smaller bot when his optics trailed over her position before he nodded his thanks and acknowledgement to her.

(She towered over all the bots really- she was large enough for their Prime to sit on her back and appear small despite her slim build when compared to others of her kind so it was no trouble to use her neck as a shield.)

As she noticed a threat that Ironhide- as the mech had introduced himself- could not deal with she lifted her head from its place with a snarl, the until them soft metal spikes on her back trailing along her spine and down her tail straightening and hardening into sharp points, even as she quickly snagged the medic into her front claws gently holding him against her chest with one claw even as she stood flames licking around her fangs, the slim almost delicate looking mandibles on either side of her mouth plates opening threateningly alongside her mouth. She didn't hold back as she opened her mouth wide and bathed the area in her flames. There were no Autobots to take the blow within the range she had used for that blast and Ironhide was dealing with enemies on her other side so she saw no reason to.

As soon as the Decepticons were melted into slag she closed her mouth huffing out any smoke left, mandibles settling back into their places as she scanned the area again. She lowered her head, those same mandibles opening and gently taking the medic into them as she twisted her neck and head around to gently place the mech onto her back before releasing him. "Stay there please." She commanded even as her armor plating shifted and hardened, all the spikes on her spine around the place she had placed him hardening into dangerous dagger like protrusions around him.

She had placed the medic where Predacon sparklings were placed before they learned to fly and her body responded to having a living cybertronian inside by activating all the protective measures that would trigger with a sparkling to protect. The spines on her back around the hold would harden and become electrified to the touch when she wished, the armor would shift to mostly cover the opening, and the placement ensured she could reach the hold to deal with anyone who managed to get to close with her fangs. She turned to Ironhide darting to his side and dropping her head, those same mandibles (used many times to pick up and hold unruly sparklings) opening "I will place you on my back. Hold tightly to the spines around you. I will be moving quickly." She didn't give him a chance to respond the mandibles closing around the mech as she quickly twisted around to place him on her back.

He grumbled about being handled like a sparkling, but he gripped the spine beside him as she lifted her head and began to dart through the battlefield. Eclipse was quick, her tail, claws, fangs, and fire taking care of any Decepticon in her way as she darted for the Prime.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Eclipse isn't sure exactly how she ended up following the Autobots to their base.

(The Prime and the Healer were convincing.)

Either way she finds herself in the very center of Ratchet's med bay, her wings spread wide (she touches either wall and it takes some creative maneuvering. Eventually she decides to move all the way to the wall and open one wing at a time) for the medic to treat. She is thankful for his gentle servos as he takes care of the numerous injuries she had accumulated even as his words are sharp and angry. She recognizes that he is angry she allowed herself to go without treatment and made some of the injuries worse for it and doesn't hold it against him as he flings insults and threats in equal measure.

After she is treated (and threatened with wrenches about straining anything) she sees the Prime. She wasn't expecting the bot to offer her a place in his Clan. He explains that the Autobots had already seen her as 'one of them' due to her numerous fights at their side even if she had never gone back to 'base' with them. She accepts the offer of housing, dipping her head in agreement.

The Prime is not her Alpha yet. He is _**an Alpha**_ and a good one, but he is not yet _**her**_ Alpha. He has yet to earn that place.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It is after a tiring stressful battle a vorn and a half after Eclipse joins the Autobots that Eclipse realizes Optimus Prime has become _**her**_ Alpha somewhere over the many battles they have faced together.

She is exhausted and aching, but whole thanks to Optimus. (It had been a crazy maneuver in which the Prime had run up her foreleg and took a flying leap at Megatron to knock him away from her wings after she had been pinned by sheer numbers despite the Autobots efforts to help her)

The Prime approached her as soon as they arrived back at the base to ask after her wellbeing and it hits her that Optimus Prime had been her leader-protector-shield-sword…her Alpha…for many meta-cycles. Her optics widen as she has the thought, turning to face the bot in her bipedal mode blinking with surprise.

She pulled herself to her pedes from where she had been sitting and to her full height at the realization nodding to him "I am fine Optimus Prime…and it is time I did something."

She backed away from the Prime as she finished speaking, triggering her transformation sequence so that she stood before him in her Predacon from, all Autobots in the area turning their way at the tone in her voice. As soon as she was far enough away she pinned her optics to the Prime who watched her with confused optics. They wouldn't be so in a klik.

She pulled her right foreleg back just above her hip joint as she lowered her body into a crouch, extending her left foreleg forward as far as it would go as she spread her wings as far as she could. She then lowered the front of her neck so her head hovered just above her forelimbs and bent her body into a bow, her wings fully extended and flat to the ground as she could make them with her optics closed.

She heard the sharp intakes of the bots and the Prime as they realized what they were seeing.

"My Alpha" she greeted him from her place on the ground in a bow her instincts humming happily in her processor. "Thank you for your care."

It was a sign of great trust for a Predacon to lower themselves into a bow as she had as it left many places vulnerable to attack. The only time a Predacon bowed to someone it was to their Alpha alone or in the case of a great honor done to them- as they would bow if another saved their sparkling in thanks- so for Eclipse to be bowing as she was, it was a shock to the bots. They knew her view on bowing to anyone. They knew what it meant to see her lowered into a bow before Optimus Prime.

Optimus' optics were huge as he stood frozen for a moment before stepped forward "Rise Eclipse" he intoned, his voice giving the words the weight the moment deserved as the bots around them remained absolutely silent and still.

Eclipse opened her optics slowly lifting herself up, pulling her wings to her sides and shifting her forelimbs so that she can stand on them keeping only her neck and head lowered so she can stare on even ground- optic to optic- with Optimus.

 _::This is my Clan now::_ she tells the Prime, eyes gleaming, and voice heavy with all the weight the word 'Clan' holds for her.

And Optimus understands what she doesn't say: that she will stand with them through the Pits, will face down Unicron and Primus themselves to shield them, will protect and guide and stand beside them through everything to come in this war.

That Eclipse would die for them.

He responds in a way that tells her the feeling is mutual and leaves her proud this is her Alpha.

 _::This is_ _ **our**_ _Clan::_

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

 **Eclipse is mostly black with gold-white sort of accents (she made me think of a Solar Eclipse hence her name) and golden optics. She stands about 35 feet in bipedal form- making her taller than even Megatron- and while in 'beast' or 'Predacon' form is a large slim but strong black armored dragoness with spines down her back and tail with a retractable scythe blade on the end of said tail. She's got long claws on each of her limbs. If anyone wants to adopt this let me know~**


	3. Chapter 3

**TIME MEASUREMENTS:**

 **Astrosecond:** .5 seconds

 **Nano-klik:** 1 second

 **Klik** : 1 minute

 **Breem:** 8 minutes

 **Cycle:** 1 hour 15minutes

 **Deca-cycle:** 4 weeks (one month)

 **Mega-cycle:** 96 hours (four days)

 _ **Meta**_ **-cycle:** 12 months (one year)

 **Stellar Cycle:** 6 months

 **Vorn:** 83 years

 **This one is called** _ **Mutation**_ **. I wanted a fic where mutants were a thing on Earth. –shrug- So I made it. It jumps from place to place of the movie since it** _ **is**_ **a one shot rather than a full story.**

 **(Also Sparkling got expanded in its own story titled Changes. (oops))**

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

Molly had hidden herself for _years_. She was _different_ from everyone else, would be considered a threat. So she had made sure no one realized exactly _how_ different she was.

It was difficult. Especially with all the quirks that came with her mutation. She was a feral mutant whose animal side manifested as a black-backed jackal. She had all the senses of her animal counterpart, she was stronger than a normal human and she had all the pack instincts that came with it. Her particular breed of jackal was a social, close knit, family oriented animal that was protective and possessive in the extreme.

At first Molly had hidden herself among the people, but it didn't end up working out. She'd been too different. She had stuck out in the crowd as just slightly _off_. Never in a way that had others putting the facts together, but just enough that they were uncomfortable with her. It was in the way she carried herself- all lethal predator grace, or loping strides. In the way she watched the people around her, the way she always just seemed to _know_ when something or someone was _wrong_.

She'd needed somewhere _else_ to hide herself. So Molly had chosen to join the military. She could hide her abilities well enough to pass the physicals and such without a problem. After that her reactions and instincts, her predator grace and knack for _knowing_ would be appreciated or sought after. No one would _question_ if she did it right.

(It was how her father had hidden his feral nature- under military discipline and war honed instinct.)

When Molly was 19 she followed in her father's footsteps and joined the army.

Molly climbed the ranks over the years, shifting from team to team as her particular skill set was needed. She never really _settled_ with any of them though. It was a job and nothing more. Sure she liked some of the people she worked with (and loathed others) but it was just a _job_. None of the men or women she worked with spoke to her of _pack_. (And Molly looked, she _always_ looked, because it was something she needed, something she wanted, something she _craved_.)

O~O~O~

The mission that would changer her life started out simple. She'd been sent in for her ability to track in the desert and found she enjoyed this particular squad's company- even if one of them was prone to slipping into Spanish which Molly had no idea how to speak. They were Rangers which meant they knew what they were doing, and did it right. Molly appreciated a squad that ran as well as theirs, who were able to adjust to having a new member, and- this was something she really appreciated having run into issues about it multiple times- didn't have any issues or assumptions about her simply because she was female.

William Lennox had a good team.

The (little over a) month out in the desert with the man and his team of Rangers saw her settling well amongst their members, joking with them, and enjoying their company in ways she didn't expect.

And then they flew to the base in Qatar. And everything changed.

O~O~O~

Molly will never forget her first encounter with a Cybertronian.

She'd been uneasy since the moment she stepped onto the tarmac of Qatar. _Something_ had been whispering to her, nudging at her instincts, telling her to _leave_. Her eyes had darted around the base, her senses stretched to the maximum, her shoulders were tense, and she couldn't figure out what it was that had her on edge which had only made it worse. She could remember stopping Will's team and murmuring for them to 'be careful, something isn't right'. She could remember the nods of acknowledgement (because over the five weeks of her running around in warzones with the Rangers they had learned to respect and listen to her instincts) as they parted ways.

Later she would realize it was like when an animal could _sense_ a very bad storm coming hours before it arrived. She'd sensed the storm without realizing it. Without having a name for what was coming.

She'd been pacing around the base when everything went to shit.

One moment it had been calm, people talking and laughing and joking as if all was normal. The next her instincts had _screamed_ , her head whipped around and she witnessed a helicopter _stand up_. She'd gone still, eyes wide and fixed on the huge metal _being_ that had once been an air vehicle. She could even remember the air in her lungs stalling.

And then it had turned, bright, _bright_ red optics scanning the area even as it began to fire missiles and shots around it.

Molly had run.

She'd run for Will, finding his voice in the chaos and darting his way. (She wasn't sure _why_ \- she supposed it was habit form the last month of looking to him in battles and warzones as the Captain of the squad she'd been assigned.) He'd spotted her before she got to him, his arm darting out to her even as Epps ran up, and Will screamed at them all to 'Go, go, _go!_ Move your asses!'

O~O~O~

Watching Epps scramble backwards, sprawled on his back at the feet of the not-helicopter that had leveled their base in less than five minutes was tense. Molly had been crouched, ready to dart out and grab the man when he had managed to get back to them breathlessly explaining that whatever the helicopter was, it had been _looking_ at him.

And then came that tense frantic dash across the desert.

O~O~O~

Molly had her lips parted as she panted lightly in the heat. They had stilled on a rise, after following the pup that often showed up at the base back to his village in an attempt to get the image Epps captured back to the Pentagon, to let them know the base attack had survivors.

She tilted her head as her ears picked up something over the sounds of her team and the town around her. She turned her head, eyes widening as she shrieked "MOVE!" at the men around her, darting forward as if she could grab them and yank them out of the danger zone.

The team had responded instantly to her yell, darting forward and away from whatever she had seen that they hadn't.

Molly hadn't warned her team quickly enough to avoid casualties, however, and she snarled in anger as she watched the metal scorpion spear one of her teammates through the chest and fling his body away like trash.

She would see the thing _dead_ for its actions, she swore to herself even as the team began to scramble away in earnest, shooting at the scorpion, but doing no damage.

Will had managed to get a phone, and she could hear him screaming about credit cards and national security. She snarled to herself at people's stupidity even as she aimed at the red lights of the metal scorpion, assuming they were the equivalent of eyes.

When she hits her mark, the beast shrieks at a decibel that brings her down to her knees with a scream, and she makes a note that even if the red lights on the face aren't eyes they're very sensitive. She doesn't think she'd managed to break the 'eye' on the bot, maybe cracked it or gave it the equivalent of a bee sting (in the eye which _ouch_ ), but she smirks anyway even in pain and hunched over herself on the ground. She can feel Fig at her side, trying to pull her up even as he yelled _something_ at her in Spanish.

She sways in place, her sense of balance off even as she forces herself to her feet. This is no place to collapse and she would not put her team in danger by forcing them to watch after her _and_ themselves in a battle with something they had never seen before. She watches with suppressed joy as Will throws the phone in his hands to Epps yelling "Pentagon!" He'd apparently managed to get though despite the idiot he had been talking to beforehand.

She's thrilled to hear they'll have air support shortly as Epps speaks into the phone. She repeats the mantra of 'just a few more minutes' to herself as they fight the metal beast.

When the aircrafts shoot the scorpion Molly grins. It takes her a moment longer than usual- her ears are still ringing from earlier- to notice the sounds of thrashing. Despite the lag in her hearing she still knows before the dust and sand clears that the scorpion was hit but not down and screams at Epps to tell the aircrafts to shoot again.

He obeys the moment he sees the tail of the beast thrashing over the sand cloud, and the next round of shots to land on the robot cause it to retreat.

Molly is kind of pissed she didn't get to shoot at the other eye as she stares at the piece of tail the beast left behind.

She's glad to be climbing into a helicopter that _didn't_ stand up to get out of there though. They made it.

O~O~O~

Molly takes one look at the _pups_ that had been dragged along into the mess and wants to snarl. They're _pups_. They're not meant to be in the middle of war by circumstance. That the boy seems to know more than the secret organization that had spent so many years studying 'Megatron' and the 'Allspark' makes her frown.

They're involved. That much she can see- and it isn't going to change. Once the oddness of the world touches a person it never seems to leave, always finding them again and again no matter their choices. The pups-Sam and Mikaela-don't know it yet, but their entire lives will be overturned and shaken up. No matter what happens to them after this moment- they will never see the world the same way again.

Molly takes in the knowledge presented to her and frowns.

The source of these Cybertronians' life is in the room next to their doom-bringer. The very key to this Megatron's plots and plans. The _genius_ minds of Sector Seven have taken a member of the opposing faction to Megatron hostage and from what she could see of their reaction to Megatron they were very likely _hurting him_. She could _smell_ the boy believed entirely that he _needed_ his 'car' to be brought back to his side. She could _smell_ his worry for the bot-Bumblebee if she was hearing correctly- and it was making her fidget.

Her instincts were screaming.

So of _course_ the power was shut down, as well as the backup power and _of course_ Megatron began to melt.

 _ **Of course**_.

She turned to Lennox. "I fucking _told you_ we shouldn't get up this morning." (Well it was really the morning of the Base attack, but since they hadn't slept since then it would be 'this morning' until Molly crashed and woke up again.)

The man snorted even as they ran for the arms room. "Oh shut up." He smirked at her and she rolled her eyes even as she smirked back.

If she was going to die today, she was going to die taking these bastards with her.

O~O~O~

Simmons, Molly decided, needed to be put in his place. He wanted to be an Alpha when he was more of a third in command or scout. He was not settled in his pack and it was showing in his reactions to Will- an Alpha- and Will's team. He was lashing out at them and Sam's demands to get to his car.

Considering what they had seen, what they had witnessed the scorpion-bot to be capable of, and what Sam had insisted about Bumblebee Molly wasn't surprised when Will got into Simmons' face.

She did have to laugh softly as Simmons tried to command "I'm going to count to five…" and Will responded sharp and strong

"Well I'm going to count to three."

The team had instantly shifted to take out all the Sector agents in the room when their Captain reacted, and was now at a standoff as she and the team stood between the Sector agents left standing and William as he pressed a gun into Simmons' heart.

The tension was broken as the Secretary of Defense gave his opinion and they began to run for the pup's car.

O~O~O~

The yellow and black bot with no voice- Molly now understood 'Bumblebee' being his name- was antsy of the agents around him when Sam came for him, but he didn't set off her instincts. She was still tense from what was coming, but _this_ Cybertronian didn't cause her instincts to scream 'run' or 'kill with extreme prejudice.' So she was not against climbing into an army vehicle with Will to provide an escort to the Camaro as they all fled the dam with the Allspark towards Mission City.

She whistled, a low impressed sound, as she watched who she assumed to be the other Autobots preform one of the most well executed synchronized U-turns she had ever seen. "Damn" she murmured it next to Will and he made an agreeing sound as he tracked the other bots with his eyes for a moment. "Wish we had a partner like _that_ on a few of our missions."

Will snorted "Adrenaline Junkie."

"Guilty." She agreed without a pause as she stared. "But remember that time we were behind enemy lines and I had to hotwire that piece of crap car so we could make the checkpoint for extraction, and we were _both_ sure we weren't gonna make it back?"

Will paused as the memories jumped to the forefront "You're a crazy ass driver…but yeah- I could see why you'd be wishing for a partner like that to get out."

"Hey!" she quipped back even as Optimus dropped back to deal with one of the Decepticons "my crazy ass driving is the only reason we made it to the extraction point."

"True."

O~O~O~

All joking faded as they entered the City and the real battle started with the not-a-jet known as Starscream shooting at them.

Molly snarled in a distinctly _not human_ way as she twists her way through wreckage, shooting at the not-helicopter- she thought the name was Blackout or something similar.

The battle was crazy and all of Molly's senses were stretched to their limits as she struggled to keep track of her team in the chaos at the same time she tries to keep herself alive in the chaos. She knows she's being pushed further and further from her team as the battle continues and it pisses her off.

Unfortunately she can't do anything about it except survive whatever she runs into and try to circle back. It's…not going well.

And then a large metal hand is closing over her body and lifting her up "Whoa lil' lady! Watch yerself!"

The only thing that stops the instinctive urge to lash out is the fact she recognizes the silver bot to be the bipedal form of the silver Pontiac that had followed Optimus- meaning friendly-and the fact that the flying leap he had taken to snag her off the ground where he rolled to his pedes had saved her life.

"Thanks." She told him scrambling up his arm with all the predator grace she had always carried and coming to rest on his shoulder where the neck met it. (She wasn't sure how she knew the mech was looking at her through the visor as she settled, she just knew he was.) "You need your hands." She shrugged at his silent question "Now go! I'm not gonna fall."

Molly found she quite liked working from Jazz's shoulder as they darted through the fight. It was much easier to make her shots count when she was so close to the eyes and face, when she could see the vulnerable cables between armor plating that a cybertronian weapon couldn't hit, but her tiny-by-comparison organic weapon was just the right size for.

Watching Jazz have the mech equivalent of a heart attack (she would learn it was called a 'spark attack' in the resulting lecture he gave her even as he darted through the battle) when she darted from her place on his shoulder, to the hand (servo was covered in the resulting lecture as well) of the Decepticon and up _that_ mechs arm to his shoulder where she proceeded to pull out her knife out to cut at important looking cables in the neck her tiny hands and weapon had no problems reaching would amuse her later after the battle.

She had panicked a little when she noticed the mech she was sawing on reach up to rip her from her place, but Jazz was covering for her even as surprised as he was, and the reaching servos never managed to get ahold of her as she darted around, her unnatural balance, instincts and senses keeping her on her feet as she darted back for Jazz.

He pulled her away from the mech in question easily and took the bot down even as he yelled "Wha' in th' Pit was tha'?! Tha' was th' craziest stunt Ah have ev'r seen! Ya nearly gave meh a spark attack jumpin' onta a Decepticon's servos like tha'!"

"It worked didn't it?" she hollered back gripping the armor beside her to help keep her balance on Jazz's shoulder as the mech dipped, dodged and ducked around the battle without pause.

It would have continued like that the whole battle, Molly was sure. She was sure they two of them would have continued sniping at each other half serious and half joking as they darted through the battle. (There was even a moment where Jazz had transformed down into the Pontiac around her so she ended up in the driver's seat (she shot out the rolled down window for the few minutes she was there) before he transformed back so she was on his shoulder again where they proceeded to take out a tank- or rather Jazz took out the tank while Molly was along for the ride of acrobatics.)

Over the battle she learned to shift and react with the bot, thanking every god she could think of for the large boost her mutation gave her in regards to her senses, balance, reaction time and instincts. She found she was laughing, adrenaline pumping through her veins and upping the strength of her abilities in response.

So she was sure it would have continued- except Megatron swooped down from above and snagged Jazz. She snarled instinctively, shoving her weapon (she had three shots left) back into its holster as she clung to Jazz's shoulder in an attempt to not fall off even as Jazz snapped "Ya wanna piece of meh?! Ya wanna piece?!"

She _knew_ what was going to happen before Megatron acted. Her instinct screamed that she had to stop him and she was moving even before she truly thought about it. Megatron had lifted Jazz above his head like some sort of sacrifice, as he gipped him by the neck and feet in preparation to _rip_ , so it was simple to release her death grip on Jazz's armor and let herself fall straight onto the mech's upturned face-plates.

Knife first.

She aimed for the mech's optics. She wasn't sure _what_ had possessed her to make the crazy gamble. All she had thought about was ' _Megatron is gonna rip him in half_ ' and that she _was not_ allowing it to happen. So she moved.

And it worked.

Megatron let go of Jazz's feet in an attempt to reach her as she _twisted_ the knife she had in his optic, tearing and twisting the finicky gears and lines that formed the 'eye'. He screeched with enraged pain and Molly screamed with him, her ears pained at the decibel and pitch she had subjected them too. His servos never made it to her though. The moment Jazz's feet were free he lashed out, pulling his body into a sort of 'chin-up' before he kicked out at Megatron's arm hard enough he was dropped as Megatron wobbled on his pedes thanks to his precarious position on top of a sky scraper.

Molly reacted instantly the moment Jazz was free.

She ripped her knife out of Megatron's optic (ignoring another enraged scream from Megatron at the action) ran and _leapt_ from her place after Jazz without pause, using ever bit of her mutation's strength to get as much distance as she could.

She felt the mech's dagger-like fingers brush over her back in a near miss, ripping her clothes and managing to land three deep scratches from her right hip to her left shoulder. She slammed into Jazz's chest, his servo instinctively rising to cradle and shelter her body as he twisted to land on the ground properly. The landing was rough, both of them crying out in pain, but keeping their eyes on Megatron above them.

The only thing that stopped Megatron from storming after them was the Allspark drawling his attention away. He left them on the ground choosing instead to go after Sam and the Allspark. Molly snarled from her place cradled against Jazz's chest, ignoring the warm blood soaking her back as she tracked the mech flying after Sam.

After a moment she turned her eyes to Jazz "Next time you decide to take on your race's Doombringer by yourself…please don't."

The mech turned his visor down to her staring hard before his lips pulled up into a smirk "Lil Lady….yer th' craziest femme Ah have ev'r seen. Wha' were ya _thinkin_ ' runnin' _righ' at Megatron's face-plate_ with a pointy stick?"

Molly snorted on a laugh "It's a knife Jazz. And I was thinking I didn't want him to rip you in half. I needed to stop him and his face was _right there_ so I...uh…I jumped." She shrugged and then winced hard, as she pulled at the wounds on her back hissing between her teeth.

Jazz jolted like she had shocked him hissing himself "Aww Frag. Ah'm sorry Molly. Fragging…" he whipped around and started running even as he spoke "Thank ya fer saving meh even if tha' was one of th' craziest things Ah have ever seen."

Molly couldn't help the laugh that escaped despite the mess they found themselves in and the pain it caused her. "I've always been an adrenaline junkie."

"Ratchet!" Jazz hollered as he approached the mech and the medic whipped around to see why Jazz was calling him.

"Jazz you half-clocked _fragger!_ What were you thinking taking on Megatron by yourself?!"

"Sorry Ratch, Ah learned tha' lesson well but could ya take a look at Molly fer meh? Megatron got 'er in th' back." he held her out and she was gently passed to the medic before Jazz then took over watching their backs.

Ratchet was gentle as he could be as he scanned her and did what he could to bind the wound on the field. "I'll want to see you after all this to take care of that properly" he warned her "so don't run from me."

"I won't. If I pass out though…don't put me in the hospital. No matter what anyone says, or who asks for me, no matter what _happens_ don't put me there. Alright?"

Ratchet stared at her hard for a second before he nodded once "I will look after you myself. I give you my word."

"Thank you."

O~O~O~

Molly breathed a sigh of relief when it was all over. She was glad to see everyone that started this mad dash through Mission City was alive even if they were all injured one way or another. (Ratchet was already stalking through the ranks running scans and screaming threats and orders in equal measure. Molly decided she like him.)

She leaned back into the servo holding her and took a deep breath. She was so tired.

"Molly!" her eyes darted down at the sound of her Captain's voice.

"Will?"

"Are you alright? I saw you fall off Jazz when Megatron picked him up…"

She stilled "Uh—"

"Oh. She didn't _fall_." Jazz spoke and all eyes and optics turned his way. Molly's eyes widened and she shook her head frantically at him when she realized what the bot was doing. Will was intensely protective of 'his' squad and for now she was one of his. He would be _so_ pissed if he found out what she did. Jazz didn't listen. He didn't even actually _tell_ anyone what she did. He did something worse.

He reached up to his visor, pressed something (she would later find out from Sam that Optimus had done the same thing Jazz was about to do so he could tell them the story of Cybertron) and she was suddenly watching the scene play out in front of herself.

To the humans on the ground it appeared that they were suddenly standing in the sky at the height of the sky scraper Jazz had been grabbed and flown up to. Some jumped, one or two cursed, but all eyes were drawn to the side where Jazz was being held in Megatron's servos, Molly clinging to Jazz's shoulder when the projection began to play.

They watched as Jazz screamed in Megatron's face, watched as the mech lifted Jazz above himself, his servos holding Jazz's pedes and neck, the servo gripping Jazz's neck right beside Molly. They watched as Megatron snapped in response to Jazz's taunts and potshots "No! I want tw—" only to be cut off.

More than one face twisted with shock as they watched Molly's face twist with anger, heard the inhuman snarl she didn't remember releasing, and saw that she _willingly let go_ of Jazz.

There were exclamations as she pulled her knife free and dropped straight down onto Megatron's face, her knife digging sharply into Megatron's optic without hesitation. She heard someone tell Jazz to slow the projection down as the quick chain reaction caused by her insane gamble played out. She ever heard another soldier ask Jazz to replay it and another ask for a slow motion capture of the scene.

Once Jazz had done as he had been asked, the recording continued. More than one person yelled when she ripped the knife out of Megatron's optic and lunged off the bot's face-plates after a falling Jazz without pause. She heard more yells as they witnessed Megatron's claws dig into her back as she lunged and there were multiple sighs of relief when Jazz caught her from the air and pulled her to his chest.

As the projection stopped Jazz finished his earlier sentence "She didn't _fall_. Th' crazy femme _jumped_."

"Frag femme!" Ironhide's voice was the first to break the shocked silence "I think I _like_ you! You're my kind of crazy!" he threw his head back and laughed.

Molly buried her head into her hands. "Thanks Jazz."

The mech holding her in his servo snorted "Ya saved mah life Molly. Ah'm thankful. Very thankful. But ya _do_ deserved ta get yelled at fer that crazy stunt. Even ya gotta admit tha'."

He wasn't _wrong_ \- Molly knew he wasn't. But as William, Ratchet and the rest of her squad started yelling at her for crazy stunts, stupidity, and not thinking she sort of wanted to hit the mech for causing it. She sort of wanted to hit him again when Ratchet pulled a mother-hen and reran all of his scans on her and spent the entire time she was being properly treated for the wound on her back lecturing her about 'slag-brained stunts' and stupidity.

O~O~O~

It was after Ratchet treated her wounds and she was well on her way to healing that he called her into his med bay.

She took one look at him and knew he had figured it out.

He lifted her up to optic level and stared at her. She fidgeted as she met his stare head on.

"You are different than the other humans." Ratchet's voice was steady and nothing gave his emotions away. Molly fidgeted some more.

"I am." She agreed after a moment.

"Why?"

Molly frowned before she sat in the servo holding her "It's…a mutation. I'm human…but I have something extra…"

She proceeded to explain mutations to the fascinated medic, then explained that 'Mutants' were a minority and suppressed, how they were considered 'freaks' and mistakes. Threats. She talked of the stigma most Mutants suffered when they were discovered, of how they went out of their way to hide. She explained her choice to join the military had been to protect herself, to help her hide her mutation from the populace. She then told him _why_ she had told him not to let her get put into a hospital if she passed out back in Mission City.

If a mutant was discovered at any point they were 'registered'. Publically. Allowing anyone who would wish to hurt them for being different to find them. She explained the multiple accounts of that very thing happening, how sometimes the Mutant was killed simply because of what they were.

She told him that if he had placed her in a hospital they would have figured out what she was while working on her, had her registered and removed from the military no matter her service record.

The moment he found out that there had even been a few cases of Mutants in hospitals 'mysteriously' dying, (Ratchet had asked and Molly had answered) he forbid her from going to a hospital and demanded she come to him for any and all heath related reasons. Molly had no problems promising to obey that command.

She was even happy to sit through the various tests Ratchet came up with to test her senses, reaction time, and whatever else he could think of when she got around to explaining her own mutation and the instincts that came with it.

She had to give it to the medic- he was thorough. It helped that he was answering things Molly had often wondered about herself but had no way to properly test and that she trusted him not to go overboard or share his findings.

O~O~O~

When the time comes, Molly is one of the first to sign up for NEST alongside Will and his team.

She was relieved to find out that Will would remain her commanding officer while she was stationed there and that the team she would most often be working with would be the team she faced Mission City with. There would be exceptions and times she was called out for another mission entirely, but most often she would be working with those she had already began building bonds with and Molly was glad.

O~O~O~

It's the third time Molly goes out with Will and the Autobots to take care of Decepticons- and a few months since the forming of Nest- that it hits Molly what has happened.

She stills in the hanger where the team had been chatting together after the fight, and stares around her. Her eyes are wide and she can't believe it has taken this long for her to realize what had happened.

She had known she felt settled in a way she never had before, had noticed that she was happier than any other time in the Military. She had known these things, but Molly hadn't put two and two together to get four.

She had found _**pack**_.

Over the course of fighting Decepticons together, taking care of each other, tending wounds on the battlefield and trusting each other's lives with the others Molly had found her place. She'd found the pack she had spent so long searching for.

"Molly?" Jazz's voice pulled her eyes up to look at the mech as he continued "Ya alrigh'?" When she didn't respond, staring at the mech who had chosen to become her Guardian in silence Jazz picked her up and brought her to his visor-level. "Molly?"

She blinked a few times before a wide smile took over her face. The noise she made wasn't very human, but it was a noise she made out of happiness. Jazz 'blinked' his visor at her, recognizing the sound from how long he had spent with her as well as her smile. "What's got ya so happy Molly?"

She darted up his arm and to his shoulder easily, having done the same thing hundreds of times since the battle of Mission City. She got to his shoulder and Jazz turned his head a bit so his face plates were within her reach.

Molly leaned forward and nuzzled his cheek plates happily, a low croon escaping her throat before she answered "I have just realized I have _pack_ Jazz. Many of those here are part of my pack, but I did not realize until just now that it had happened."

Jazz stilled for a moment as he remembered the late night talks he had with Molly about her mutation once he learned of it. He knew how important pack was to her, what it would mean for her to have one. "Tha's great!" he told her honestly as he reached up and took her back into his servo so he could bring her back to his optic (visor) level.

Molly grinned brightly at him before allowing her eyes to dart over the group of people in the hanger with them. "Of course I think I am the only feral to have a pack with aliens." She laughed at the thought. She felt Jazz still beneath her and turned her eyes back to him. "Jazz?"

"Ya consider us ta be part of yer pack? Yer family?" his voice was soft- soft enough none of the humans in the hanger would hear him though all Cybertronians did.

Molly grinned wide and happy at him- not noticing at first that every Cybertronian in the hanger was staring at her back and listening to her answer- easily answering him "Yes. You are all _mine_ now, just as I am yours. You've earned your place in my pack and I will watch over you as you watch over me."

O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~

 **Not sure what happened here. This is longer then I thought it'd be. XDD It ran away with me.**


End file.
